The girl stared at me and I was unsure if she was angry. If she was, then I wanted to file a complaint and tell her to suck it up.

The Metapod who stood behind her trainer was looking afraid, like it didn’t want to be anywhere near us.

Fay narrowed her eyes, probably to study the weird pod-like creature, but despite her small size, Fay could look pretty scary.

From the top of my head, Luna grinned down at the Metapod, smiling the same way a shark would smile upon smelling his prey.

Luna made a subtle choking gesture and Metapod's eyes widened. "Pod!" it muttered as it cowered behind the black-haired girl.

"No!." she said resolutely.

Flo shut the door with a slam.

I thought it was rather dramatic, the 'no' she had given me was enough of an answer.

Luna giggled while Fay stared at the closed door, her eyes wide with surprise.

"What was that?" She asked not 10 seconds later.

{Sore loser!} Luna answered.

"I battled her once and won, I thought her Metapod would be a nice training for you but apparently they don't feel like battling."

"Do you know that Metapod are very weak?" Fay pointed out.

"I know but her Metapod has a crazy strong skin, like surviving a nuke level of strong skin."

"What is a nuke?" Fay wondered, "Also, how'd you win?"

I could slap myself, obviously Fay wouldn't know what a nuclear bomb was. Not only had she lived near a mountain but this world also had never gotten into developing nuclear weapons. It was one of those subtle weird differences between my old universe and this one. They did discover nuclear energy but never bothered to weaponize it. Probably because the people in this world had Legendaries who would kill you if you upset the balance in life too much.

"Metapod required a special strategy."

Luna wrapped her own hands around her neck and made a choking expression, she smiled at Fay. "Ralts."

"You two drowned her?" She asked incredulously.

{Yes}

"Yup, and apparently Flo still holds a grudge which means I have to look for someone else to battle."

There was no use in training endlessly without gaining battle experience and unfortunately, my Ralts was a hard counter for the Riolu which meant that Fay hardly ever learned from the sparring matches except how to take hits.

The newly acquired Quick Attack was a small boost but Luna's teleportation and other attacks with more range made it really hard for Fay to find an opening. It was a real Achilles' heel for Fay, any opponent that was smart enough to camp her out before she could find an opening would have a massive advantage.

Fay really needs a Blaster type of attack, sadly there were no new moves popping up.

I scanned the plaza to see if I saw someone who might be a traveling Pokémon trainer as well. Riley Town was a really small place but it was close to Jubilife City so there might be some traveling trainers here.

Where the hell were my rivals when I needed them?

I saw someone sitting at a table, drinking from a water bottle. He was wearing a belt with multiple Pokéballs so I assumed he was a trainer as well.

He looked to be around 40 years old, had a wild beard and groovy short hair.

He wore a casual black shirt with a big v-neck and he had a big tattoo on his left arm of a Pokémon I didn't recognize. I don't claim to be good at reading people but with one glance I could see he was an experienced Pokémon trainer.

I approached him with confidence, "Sup, my name's Dust. Wanna battle?"

Without even batting me an eye he said. "No point in beating a rookie."

"2 vs 2, 100 Pokédollars for the winner." I replied.

The guy stereotypically raised his sunglasses, a smug grin crept up his face. "You're sure you can beat me?"

"Why? Too scared?" I egged him on.

He sighed out loud and lowered his water bottle. "Fine, let's battle."

I was not the only one who could read humans, Fay too expressed her concerns.

"Are you stupid? You do see how strong he is?"

"I do," I answered, "That's why I want to battle him, see how well my tactics fare against more experienced trainers. Sadly, most people don't want to fight a rookie like me, but if you put money on the line..." I shrugged, "100 Pokédollars is an expense I can afford and I think you two will benefit more from this guy than from beating wild Starly in the forest."

"So you expect me to lose?" Fay asked, sounding quite annoyed.

"I expect you to learn from this match," I countered, effectively derailing her doubts. "I think you can learn a whole lot more from this match than from someone on your level."

"Besides," I lowered Luna from my head, "I want to see how power interaction works against high-level Pokémon."

Luna gave me a menacing smile.

"Just so you know," The guy said when we came closer to the spot he chose to battle, "I placed in the top 32 in the Hoenn League two years ago."

Honestly, that meant nothing to me.

For all I know, the Hoenn League’s competition was a big joke two years ago. It wasn't uncommon for big major events to be canceled because of nearby B level threats that required strong trainers to help out.

The stare I gave him must have indicated that his achievements were worthless to me because he gave me an annoyed look.

He introduced himself as Nathen and had a last name I couldn't pronounce.

We exchanged data between our Pokédexes to make sure the bet was legal. All the while Nathen grinned, muttering to himself about foolish young trainers.

We decided to hold our battle on a concrete battlefield, reserved for battling. White lines were drawn on the ground to divide it into two segments.

Nathen took one of the six Pokéballs attached to his belt and threw it up in the air.

With a flash a big Pokémon appeared, it was vaguely humanoid but calling it human was a stretch. It had two big hands and wore something that looked like a skirt or something.

It definitely looked terrifying in my opinion.

I decided it was a 'he'.

The creature in question slammed his two hands together, the strike of palm against palm caused a small shockwave.

"A Hariyama," I thought out loud. Perfect.

Fay gave an unimpressed look, though there was a slight hint of fear.

Luna was mostly stoic, almost as if she had no interest in him.

"Definitely a Brute," I told my Pokémon, "Perhaps a Shaker too, he might be strong enough to wreck the ground."

The Hariyama looked strong but appearances can be deceiving.

"Are you backing down kid?" Nathen asked with mock concern.

"Fay, want to give it a try?" I asked.

The blue Riolu swallowed.

It was a small test on my part, to see if she was willing to fight a hopeless battle. I knew that Luna would do it in a heartbeat but Fay? She was still an unknown quantity.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

If she couldn't muster up to fight a battle like this then the chances were high she might give up on her goal to kill Hunter J, if not; well at least she would get some battle experience.

"I can take him," Fay muttered softly, almost inaudible.

She stepped onto the battlefield and closed her eyes for a second, she took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

"You can go first." Nathen offered smugly.

"Fay, see if you can hurt him."

Without any warning Fay shot forward, her body glowed white for a second and she was gone. Only to appear in front of Hariyama.

Fay swiped with her left claw which was followed by a quick jab with her right claw, and then she used Quick Attack again but this time to get away from Hariyama.

The bulky Pokémon didn't even flinch, not that I expected it to. The first strike wasn't meant to harm anyway, only to gauge the effectiveness of Metal Claw. If it did make Hariyama flinch or knock it back then we would know which combos and strategies worked.

And apparently, this Hariyama has a high resistance.

"Such a weak attack?" Nathen said, "Hariyama, show them real power with Thunder Punch!"

Hariyama raised his left arm up in the air, electricity began to crackle around its length, gathered around his arm, and concentrated into a small orb. After that, he slammed it into the ground and he shattered the concrete.

It should have grounded the electricity but instead, the punch rocked up the ground, stirring it loose.

Pieces of the ground broke loose and flew up in the air with electricity arcing between the bigger pieces.

In my mind I identified it as a Shaker attack with electric properties.

The ground ripped open and the path of destruction sped towards Fay.

She narrowed her eyes and lowered herself, just as the ground underneath her stirred loose she jumped up. She dodged the debris but not the electric aftershock.

She let out a small whimper.

"Kick it back!" I yelled.

Fay recovered from the literal shock and spun around in the air. A set of silver claws appeared around her left feet and she kicked a piece of concrete out of the air.

It was launched towards Hariyama and caught him by surprise. He was hit square in the face and he stumbled backward.

Upon contact the stone splintered but the damage had been done.

Fay followed the high-velocity concrete in its wake and again used Quick Attack to gain more speed.

The Quick Attack was canceled once she was close enough and instead she used the momentum to launch herself towards Hariyama's face.

It was a nasty move.

Shining claws tore through the eyes and although it wouldn't do any lasting damage it still must have hurt like a bitch.

Not only did it hurt like hell, but the shining attack also blinded the large Pokémon for a second.

Nasty and definitely exploitable.

Fay unleashed a short flurry of swipes and kicks, every single one of them placed so it could lead into a follow-up attack, there was no hesitation on Fay's face, only cold calculation.

"Use Wake-Up Slap!" Nathen yelled after managing to get a grip on the situation.

Hariyama obeyed immediately, despite still being unable to see.

He raised his two arms.

"Behind him." I countered.

Fay dropped and used Quick Attack to run between his two legs.

Just in time, the two hands clapped together and a dry bang followed.

Again Hariyama had used a multiple hit move. A sound wave followed the initial strike and I could feel the air violently being moved by the hit.

The sheer power in his arms was monstrous, something Fay should definitely avoid getting hit by.

"Behind you," Nathen shouted.

It was good to see that Hariyama followed the habit most Pokémon attacks seemed to have, which is that they only hit in front of them. Even Shaker moves that terraformed the battlefield seemed to depend on line of sight.

A weird habit that was definitely a big weak spot.

Fay had already continued her attacks without a pause.

Hariyama turned around and swung his arm.

"Counter."

Fay braced herself and an energy field flashed to life and covered the blue Pokémon.

Hariyama's arm met the forcefield and Fay let out an angry cry.

It must have helped because Hariyama was knocked backward by an invisible force.

He managed to land on his two feet, a small distance away.

Hariyama glared at Fay and he was breathing heavily, though he didn't seem to be seriously hurt.

Fay must have smelled victory because she charged at Hariyama, her fist raised.

{Mind clouded.} Luna said and I was briefly shaken by her presence which I had completely forgotten.

She was right though, one look at Fay, and I saw that her expression had changed from calculated grim into a furious snarl.

One look at Nathen's face and I knew it was a mistake.

"Stay back..." I tried to warn her but Fay ignored me, either too caught up in the battle or simply not caring enough.

"Finish her," Nathen said with a smug smile. "Do Wake-Up Slap."

Fay had enough presence of mind to use Quick Attack. She slid between his two legs and a Metal Claw scraped against his left leg.

Claws dug into the concrete and Fay skidded to a stop behind Hariyama.

But Hariyama wasn't stupid, he had seen the trick before after all.

He spun around on one foot and clapped his hands together.

Fay's expression changed to shock as the mistake became clear and the impending doom loomed over her.

"Counter!" I yelled and this time Fay did listen.

A rainbow-colored shield covered her body and just in time.

Except, it didn't help her.

The two big hands slammed together with Fay caught between. The Counter made the Hariyama’s hand slow for a second. Then it passed straight through the aura. It shattered like it was made of glass.

Fay let out a cry.

And then it was over.

I recalled Fay with the Pokéball, "You did well, now Luna's going to finish it."

She did hold out against Hariyama and this battle already did teach me a lot.

For example, Counter can be broken, despite it always working in the games. Wake-Up Slap was a physical move so it should've been blocked but real world logic decided it shouldn't.

Another discovery was that Fay wasn't as reliable as I thought, or hoped.

I didn't mind the loss but figuring out Fay's emotions might get the better of her during a fight, that was definitely a loss.

Welp, problem for later. More data had to be gathered.

Without needing to tell Luna she stepped onto the battlefield. She lazily kicked away a small pebble and shot me a confident smile.

"Seriously?" Nathen asked, "A Ralts?"

Hariyama changed his pose and challenged the small psychic. Both trainer and Pokémon were not convinced by Luna's looks.

A mistake on their part, Luna was nothing like Fay.

Not only had she a type advantage, but she was also more powerful both in raw power and in versatility.

"Okay Luna, teleport Hariyama!"

Nothing happened, Luna narrowed her eyes and stared intensely at Hariyama. He growled but was not teleported.

"Was something supposed to happen?" Nathen wondered.

Luna turned to me and shook her head.

Despite what Nathen thought, Luna was actually trying to teleport Hariyama but there seemed to be a kink in the teleport cable.

And like that we just learned that ,indeed, high-level Pokémon can't be teleported, or at least not without consent.

Luna could teleport Fay without effort but apparently, something prevented Hariyama from getting teleported.

Luna shrugged and a laser shot towards Hariyama. It hit him in the face and a purple Confusion ray followed the Psybeam.

Hariyama tanked the first hit but dodged the second wave with a short hop to the left.

"Use Force Palm," Nathen called out.

To my surprise, Hariyama began to run towards Luna, every step made the ground shake. His hands glowed white and eagerly reached out for Luna.

"Behind him," I said and Luna disappeared just as Hariyama reached her.

She appeared behind Hariyama with a smug smile.

Hariyama stopped his charge and turned around, clearly annoyed by the teleport that had saved Luna from his attack.

"Now, Heaven's Gate!" I commanded.

Luna grinned maliciously and her eyes flared red.

Underneath Hariyama, a pattern began to glow. A white circle flashed to life, completely surrounding him. Weird symbols surrounded the inner circle and a bigger symbol that looked very similar to a Triforce appeared in the middle of the circle.

"Ha?" The big Pokémon muttered surprised.

Luna raised her hands as if casting a spell.

Hariyama disappeared.

Nathen blinked.

Hariyama reappeared high up in the sky.

If he had any moves to break his fall he must have been too confused to use any of them because he dropped from the sky and I thought I heard him screaming.

He crashed into the ground and the pavement that hadn't been shattered yet did now underneath his weight.

Dust stirred up and shot in all directions.

When it all died down, the tiny Ralts walked towards his head and tapped it.

He didn't wake up.

"What the fuck?" The older guy stared at the floored Pokémon.

Yeah, what the fuck?

I knew what had just happened but that it actually worked?

In reality, Luna just teleported Hariyama up in the air. This time however she made it less obvious, using the shining emblem that had appeared as a distraction.

The theory was simple; If Luna can't teleport Pokémon because they're too strong, then make a distraction so said Pokémon doesn't realize Luna is basically teleporting them.

The engraved emblem in the ground was fairly easy for Luna to create, just teleporting a certain amount of the ground away in the shape she wanted.

Then teleport another small layer away; the teleport's glowing effect makes it look like a magic circle has appeared. A simple magic trick.

The stupid thing was that it worked.

The conclusion of this test: Teleport is affected by the willpower and a simple diversion could bypass it.

My current hypothesis was that Teleport’s usage depended on multiple factors; size, distance, mass, and if it was organic or not. But now a new factor was added to the equation. Fucking willpower because that's something that is a known force in the models we have of our reality .

The only explanation that made some sense was Aura interference. Living things were harder to teleport so maybe the hormones affect the state of one's Aura. Stronger Pokémon have stronger Aura and thus they are resistant by default unless they can't track the source of the teleport.

Whatever it was, this match had already taught me a whole lot.

The following battle, one more thing was discovered.

The trick to Teleport a stronger opponent took a lot out of Luna.

Luna lost the second match almost immediately..

Not that I cared, the science was done.